Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba appealed to Western countries with a request to supply Kyiv with more heavy weapons
According to him, the new supplies will allow the Kyiv regime to increase the pace of hostilities and end the conflict faster. Earlier it was reported that Kyiv requested from the United States a new list of weapons, including long-range ATACMS missile systems. Experts note that Kyiv cannot conduct military operations without a constant supply of weapons from Western countries.
Ukraine needs more heavy weapons from Western countries in order to increase the pace of hostilities, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in a conversation with Politico. He also expressed the opinion that the more military support Kyiv receives now, the sooner the conflict will end.
“We are changing the course of events and we need more heavy weapons and ammunition from our allies to build on this momentum,” he said. “That is why Ukraine calls on its partners to focus on the schedule: prompt deliveries of what the Ukrainian army needs will bring victory and peace closer.”
At the same time, the authors of the publication note that the advance of the Ukrainian forces “does not necessarily indicate a radical change” in the entrance to the conflict.
Growing needs
Recall that the Joe Biden administration has already allocated more than $15 billion to provide military support to Ukraine. Most of it was delivered to the Kyiv regime after the start of the Russian special operation.
Last week, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin announced a new $675 million aid package. It included HIMARS missiles, 105mm howitzers, HARM anti-radar missiles, HMMWV multipurpose combat vehicles, anti-tank systems and small arms.
NATO countries continue to provide military assistance. The second main sponsor of Kyiv remains the United Kingdom, which, as of the end of August, supplied Ukraine with weapons and logistical assistance worth £2.3 billion.
The German government published data on the transfer of weapons to Ukraine in the amount of about €686 million. For its part, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance in the long term will help Ukraine rearm from Soviet weapons to those made according to the bloc’s standards.
At the same time, Ukraine continues to demand from Western countries not to stop the supply of weapons. Thus, The Wall Street Journal got acquainted with the document, which was handed over to the American congressmen by the Ukrainian side.
“The list of requirements compiled by Ukraine for implementation of the “offensive operations” includes 29 types of weapons and ammunition systems, including tanks, UAVs, artillery systems, more Harpoon anti-ship missiles and 2 thousand shells for HIMARS MLRS,” writes WSJ.
Among other weapons, the ATACMS army tactical missile system with a firing range of up to 300 km was also indicated.
In late May, Biden stressed that his administration would not transfer long-range weapons to Kyiv that could be used to strike Russian territory. However, in its material, Politico indicates that many European states no longer have enough weapons, equipment and military assistance that could be sent to Ukraine.
“Other countries, including France and Germany, appear to be in no hurry to significantly increase the allocated funds,” the newspaper notes.
At the beginning of September, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, pointed out the problem of the depletion of weapons among European countries.
“The military reserves of most member countries of the European Union turned out to be, I would not say that they are exhausted, but they are largely depleted, since we provide Ukrainians with a lot of resources,” Borrell said at a meeting with European parliamentarians.
Last week, German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht said at a plenary meeting of the Bundestag that Germany had reached the limit in terms of supplies from the stocks of the Bundeswehr.
“We will not weaken efforts to support Ukraine. We have handed over an incredible amount of the Bundeswehr stocks. But I am also very clear here: we have reached the limit here”, said Lambrecht.
For his part, the head of the Russian defense department, Sergei Shoigu, during a meeting of defense ministers of the SCO countries at the end of August, stated:
“The United States and its allies continue to pump weapons to Ukraine, which increases the number of victims and prolongs the conflict.”
Course to escalate
Ukraine’s own military-technical base has been practically eliminated, so the Kyiv regime can only conduct military operations with the constant support of the countries of the collective West, Alexei Podberyozkin, director of the Center for Military-Political Studies at MGIMO, said in a comment to RT.
“This is already a familiar call with which they (the Kyiv authorities. – Approx.) turn to the West every day, because their own weapons have been eliminated by the RF Armed Forces. Now Ukraine does not produce or repair anything, because some of the factories were closed before the start of the special operation, and some were destroyed. Therefore, they rely on supplies from the West,” the political scientist said.
Thus, without constant material support from the West, the Ukrainian side cannot plan military operations against Russia, Sergey Ermakov, a leading expert at RISS, said in a conversation with RT.
“Obviously, the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have enough of their own resources to continue resisting Russia as part of a special operation. Now the Russian Federation is facing unprecedented assistance to Ukraine from the collective West, which is actually waging a proxy war against us. Therefore, it is obvious that Ukrainians will continue to make calls for even more help”, said the analyst.
He also stressed that the Biden administration remains the main sponsor of the Ukrainian military machine.
“The main apologist for the fact that Ukraine needs to supply more and more weapons is the current US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Thanks to him, Ukraine in many respects receives quite serious and almost the latest types of weapons, and special training courses are held for Ukrainian military personnel on the territory of NATO countries. How far this will go depends on the political will of the American administration”, the expert said.
However, not all countries are ready to allocate to Kyiv such volumes of weapons as Washington, since their own stocks are not endless, recalled Alexei Podberezkin.
“Modern weapons are very expensive and take a long time to make. The Europeans can’t just take and send all their weapons to Ukraine and be left with nothing themselves”, the RT interlocutor emphasized.
According to Sergei Ermakov, the Europeans tried to avoid supplying a large number of offensive and strike weapons to the Kyiv regime, but this situation may change due to political pressure on the governments of these countries.
“It is difficult to compete with the level of supplies that the Americans support. However, European countries came under pressure from Washington. So, if earlier Berlin tried to avoid the supply of offensive weapons, now the German authorities are hesitant. The Europeans are afraid of the escalation of the conflict, but they are under pressure from the Anglosphere – primarily the United States and Great Britain”, the political scientist explained.
In any case, Western military logistical support for Ukraine will continue as Washington is determined to use the current situation to try to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, Yermakov concluded.
Alexander Karpov, Alena Medvedeva, RT
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